<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>5 Times Red Velvet took care of NCT +1 Time NCT took care of Red Velvet by yoongaloo</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23356156">5 Times Red Velvet took care of NCT +1 Time NCT took care of Red Velvet</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/yoongaloo/pseuds/yoongaloo'>yoongaloo</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band), Red Velvet (K-pop Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>5+1 Things, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kinda, RV and NCT being cuties</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 10:28:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,594</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23356156</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/yoongaloo/pseuds/yoongaloo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>What it says on the tin. </p><p>NCT and Red Velvet are almost sibling groups and their interactions are adorable so here's all of those multiplied by 500.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bae Joohyun | Irene &amp; Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun, Bae Joohyun | Irene &amp; Lee Taeyong, Kang Seulgi &amp; Suh Youngho | Johnny, Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung &amp; Son Seungwan | Wendy, Kim Yerim | Yeri &amp; Lee Donghyuck | Haechan, Kim Yerim | Yeri &amp; Mark Lee, Red Velvet Ensemble &amp; NCT Ensemble</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>55</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Seulgi</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>NCT and RV are my ult groups and I love them more than anything so have this garbled mush of my love for these guys and gals.</p><p>Pls note that I tried my best to stay true to timelines and real events and such but we don't have a whole lot of information about these people's lives pre-debut/during training (Nor should we, really). So take all this with a grain of salt but enjoy it nonetheless.</p><p>This first part is meant to take place around 2010, 3 years after Seulgi and Johnny joined SM.</p><p>Notice: Nothing said in this work is intended to harm the names or careers of the people depicted within it. Nor is anything in it intended to be interpreted as fact. It was written for entertainment purposes only and I am making no profit off of it.</p><p>Enjoy this first part y'all! There is more to come, sorry this one's so short!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>1<br/>
Seulgi doesn’t have a soft spot for Johnny per se, but they did join the company the same year. Plus, he’s just young enough for her to coddle but still old enough to be friends with, so it would’ve been hard for them not to get acquainted, sociable as they both are.</p><p>The guys and girls don’t get too much time to spend together, but they’ve managed to eke out some semblance of a working friendship in spite of SM’s stick-up-the-ass (yes, Johnny did teach her that one) regulations. So she knows about his odd living situation, his switching back and forth from Chicago for highschool to Korea for summer training. </p><p>She also happens to know that the transition is hard for him sometimes. Having to switch languages, living situations, expectations-- it’s overwhelming for a sweet kid like Johnny.</p><p>So, in an effort to give him a warm welcome home, Seulgi makes a valiant attempt to catch him the second he walks into the SM building after his long Chicago winter.</p><p>The keyword being “attempt,” she doesn’t quite catch him before certain… vultures dig their claws in a little.</p><p>Seulgi detests gossip and though she’s made friends with the other girl trainees (well, she’s made friends with Joohyun) most of her closet friends are more experienced trainees or even already debuted idols. This has given her an advantage in training, certainly, but also alienated her from most of the younger trainees. </p><p>But aside from a training advantage, her connections and sheer talent have also struck fear into the hearts of so many trainees. Like, for a random example, Im Seowoon, who just so happens to be the very trainee blocking Johnny from entering the common areas in front of the practice rooms.</p><p>“Uh… excuse me?” Johnny tries, gently sidestepping only to be blocked once again by a smirking Seowoon.</p><p>“No entrance for regular people, beanpole,” Seowoon says. It’s hilarious to see his greasy little head reaching to block Johnny’s line of sight into the sleek common room. Johnny had yet another growth spirt during his time in the States, so he’s easily a head taller than Seowoon. And practically every other guy trainee. In fact, he grew so much that Seulgi is dreading standing next to him for fear of being stepped on.</p><p>“Um… I-- hmm,” Johnny stutters. He’s clearly not quite in Korea mode yet and it’s taking much longer than usual for Seowoon’s word to translate and process for him.</p><p>Seowoon cackles like a crow. “This foreigner got lost on the way to the bathroom, guys!” He turns to his friends, three other new and ruthless trainees with heads far bigger than their real depth of skill. They all look around nervously, prepared to join in the mocking at a moment’s notice but still wary.</p><p>They all know Johnny. Seowoon especially. They had all joined in the past year while Johnny was away. They’ve been compared to Johnny every day, told to try harder, like Johnny, to dance smoother, like Johnny, to sing with more power, like Johnny. </p><p>Only, Johnny wasn’t there to back up the claims of their trainers, no matter how often those claims were corroborated by older trainees, like Seulgi, Kyungsoo, or Sehun, or by debuted idols like Minho, Taemin, or Amber. So Seowoon and his little minions stewed in their resentment of Johnny’s superiority and slowly rose to prominence among the trainees, fully believing that they would beat Johnny soundly the second he came back for the summer.</p><p>Seeing his little gang’s reluctance, Seowoon dives straight back in, arms spread to block the entire doorway. “We ought to guide him back to the lobby guys, the poor foreigner must be so confused by us idol trainees.” Seowoon pauses to make absolutely sure Johnny is paying attention. “Y’know, since he can barely speak Korean.”</p><p>Johnny looks like he’s ready to explode. With what emotion, Seulgi can’t tell, but thankfully her voice coach chose that exact moment to finish telling her all the countless things she had done wrong that lesson and let her go. Her voice lesson was right by the doorway so she had heard every word while totally paying full attention to her voice coach and she was ready to kick some trainee ass (another Johnny-ism she’d picked up).</p><p>“John-ah! You’re back!” Seulgi cries, rushing into the crowd of sweaty teenage boys like a hyper bowling ball. Seowoon and company part like the Red Sea for Seulgi, fear for their lives etched into their faces.</p><p>She replaces greasy little Seowoon in the threshold of the door. Hopefully, a much more welcoming picture for the jet-lagged and confusingly home-sick for two different countries boy in front of her. She grabs his arm and starts dragging him away from the boys, who are now plastered to the walls trying to keep as far away from her as possible.</p><p>“We’ve all been waiting for you, Johnny! Junmyeon-oppa and Kyunsoo-oppa and Jongin-ssi and Taemin-oppa and Minho-oppa and-- oh lord.” She pauses to rethink that whole statement. “The others are all hanging out in Practice Room H so we can have a little welcome-back party!” </p><p>As she pulls along she tosses him a smile over her shoulder and tells him how glad she is he’s finally back. “This summer is going to be so much better now that you’re here for me to pester, John-ah!”</p><p>“Thanks, Seulgi-noona.” Johny gives her a big smile, his Korean brain finally appearing now that he’s with someone he trusts. “I’m happy to be back.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Irene</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Joohyun hears some busy bees at ungodly hours of the morning.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Wow seeing people actually read this is incredible!</p>
<p>It's so much fun to write I'm really glad y'all are enjoying it!</p>
<p>This chapter features Irene (yes each chapter will be focused on a different RV member, any guesses who's gonna be next?), Taeyong, and Jaehyun in late 2013, right before the SM Rookies era.</p>
<p>Hope y'all enjoy it!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>2</p>
<p>It was far too early for anyone to be practicing, Joohyun thought as she strolled along the practice hallways at what must’ve been just shy of 5 in the morning. However, the thumping bass emanating from the far-most dance room told another story.</p>
<p>She knew she had some time to spare (she woke up this early every morning for a reason), so she ducked her head into the practice room only to be met with a scene that gave her heart palpations.</p>
<p>It was Taeyong and Jaehyun, eyes bleary with exhaustion, stress, and determination, pulling their gangly, sweaty limbs through what must’ve been their thousandth run through of their monthly dance evaluation choreography. They flung themselves into the dance full-force, movements sharp and precise, but never enough for their judging eyes. They looked so serious, so concentrated. Far too solemn for their sixteen and eighteen years.</p>
<p>Joohyun wasn’t too surprised to find them like this. Normally they would’ve been long since tucked into bed. Normally they’d have practiced with Johnny, Yuta, Hansol, and the younger boys until midnight, then hit the hay at around the same time. But these two had something special to worry about. They were kept up by the same looming threat that had kept Joohyun and Seulgi up at all times of the night the past few months.</p>
<p>In just under a week, on December 2nd, Seulgi, Jaehyun, and little Jeno would be revealed as SM Rookies, the first of their kind. And seven days later, Taeyong would follow, accompanied by Irene, not Joohyun.</p>
<p>Thus explains why these two busy little bees were out so late, working harder than any other trainee in the building. Joohyun had to smile a little. Here they were working their tails off when they weren’t the ones debuting in less than a year.</p>
<p>But that just goes to show how dedicated her cute little dongsaengs were.</p>
<p>And how caring. Jeno would never have been allowed to stay up this late, though he was just as worked up about their introductions as his hyungs.</p>
<p>“Ya! Boys!” Joohyun called out the minute the song finished. Taeyong and Jaehyun whipped their heads toward Joohyun, who had pushed open the door fully and started strolling across the studio to them.</p>
<p>“Ah! Goodeve-- morning, Joohyu-- I mean, Irene-noona!” Taeyong stuttered out through heavy pants. Jaehyun could only manage a wave and a sweet smile, somehow still adorably handsome even with sweat dripping from his messy hair.</p>
<p>Joohyun gave them both knowing smiles, taking in the fogged-up practice mirror, nearly empty water bottles strewn throughout the room, and Taeyong’s open notebooks filled front to back with lyrics.</p>
<p>She gave a little chuckle and said, “Sit down with noona for a minute, you two. I wanna talk to you.”</p>
<p>The boys looked bemused, but their trust for Joohyun won out over their confusion and so they sat down on the floor obediently.</p>
<p>Joohyun plopped herself down right in front of the two teenagers, setting her purse down beside her and letting her chin fall to rest on her hands. She sat and studied the weary and worried children before her, not quite sure of what to say.</p>
<p>She hadn’t debuted yet, and she couldn’t tell them what to expect as male idols, so maybe she should call up Junmyeon or Taeyeon-unnie or Jinki-oppa to give them some real advice.</p>
<p>No, she was the one who found them, she was the one who would give them this.</p>
<p>“You boys are some of the most talented, hardworking, exceptional singers, dancers, and rappers that this company and the industry is ever going to know.” That seemed like a good start.</p>
<p>Taeyong and Jaehyun hadn’t known what to expect from this conversation, but they couldn’t even have imagined this. They were totally blind sighted by Joohyun’s compliments and her sincerity, but they didn’t dare to make even a peep for fear of her losing steam (or whooping their asses for interrupting her).</p>
<p>Joohyun continued, “You and Johnny and Yuta and Hansol and Mark and all the little ones are going to be something amazing, I am absolutely certain of that. So is the company and so are all the sunbaes. We have full faith that you’ll be able to pull off whatever they throw at you and more.” She paused for a moment. “So don’t let this first obstacle blow you over.”</p>
<p>She held the two boy’s eyes and put her warm hands over their callused and slippery ones. They shared the same passions, the same determination in their eyes. Joohyun was one of the few people in the world who could make eye contact with these two kids without being blinded by their hunger and beauty.</p>
<p>“I’m here with you. Seulgi and I are going to be there every step of the way, and your friends will be joining you soon. You have our sunbaes behind you. Even Seungwannie, Sooyoung-ah, and Yerim-ah will be cheering us on.”</p>
<p>She turned to face Taeyong fully. It was official within the company what kind of burden she would have in their as-yet-unnamed group, and it was a badly kept secret that Taeyong would be having the same role to play in his group. She couldn’t tell him what to expect (she was definitely going to talk to Junmyeon, Kris-oppa, and Jinki-oppa about sitting Taeyong down soon), but she could tell him this:</p>
<p>“Noona is here for you, Yongie. If you need anything, if any of you need anything, I’ll be there.”</p>
<p>The teens were far too tired to be blasted with so many comforting words of praise and support, so they looked just about ready to burst into tears by the time Joohyun finished her little speech. </p>
<p>“Noona we--” Jaehyun began.</p>
<p>“Nope!” Joohyun cut him off and stood abruptly. “I got permission to make a quick grocery run this morning and I need able-bodied young men to help me carry them back! Get your stuff, little ones!”</p>
<p>They sat in silence for another few moments, paralyzed by Joohyun’s flipped switch. Joohyun sighed and snapped her fingers loudly, galvanizing the teenagers into speeding to gather their things.</p>
<p>Joohyu-- well, Irene, now. Irene smiled at the stumbling boys, plans already forming to wear them out even further at the store (she may care for their well-being but she still needed the labor) and then convince their trainers to give the boys the morning off to sleep. They deserved a little rest. She couldn’t have been more proud of them.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Fight me on twitter! But only with swords. Words and g*ns not accepted.<br/>@yerimsbih</p>
<p>(PS I had to edit the last chapter cause i realized Seulgi called Jongin 'oppa' but their both 94 liners! whoops! If y'all see any dumb mistakes like that don't hesitate to point them out cause no one's editing these but me!)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Yeri</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Yerim does some late-night breaking and entering (known in some circles as food delivery).</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: mentions of extended time with little or no food. the dreamies are working very hard while training and forget to take care of themselves properly. make sure you take of yourself properly before reading!</p><p>Takes place late 2014, early 2015. Red Velvet has debuted, but Yeri has not.</p><p>Hope y'all enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>3</p><p>This was so incredibly against the rules</p><p>The million and one ways Yerim could get chucked out of SM like a moldy sandwich for doing exactly this had been drilled into her by everyone from her coaches and teachers to her unnies to Lee Sooman himself. And yet, here she was. Sneaking into the boy’s dorms after dark. </p><p>Not that it would’ve made any difference if it had been daytime. Cross contaminating guy and girl trainees was like breaking a Commandment, you’d get in so much trouble what happened to Jessica-sunbaenim would look like an amicable split in comparison.</p><p>Sooyoung-unnie thought that rule was stupid because she wanted to hang around the cute guy trainees. Shows how much difference in maturity three years really makes, huh? (Not that Yerim should’ve been high and mighty, those three years are why Joy-unnie had debuted already and she was stuck messing around in the dorms). Yerim, with all her 15 years of wisdom, thought the rule was dumb because she wanted to see her friends without jumping through a billion hoops.</p><p>What was so wrong with her getting some vocal practice done with Donghyuk-ah? Or learning some of the boy’s dances from Jisungie (they were so much more challenging, they had really helped her grow as a dancer!). They didn’t really think she would’ve… done anything with the only male trainees around her age, did they? Cause that was just beyond gross.</p><p>With zero thoughts of canoodling with her weird little dongsaengs in her head, Yeri made her way down the dark and barren hallway that led to the boy’s dorms.</p><p>She was blatantly breaking her company’s rules, but it was for a good cause! The heavy bags of takeout weighing down her already small form weren’t just for show. </p><p>The boys had been working themselves so hard after their last group evaluation went... sour. Needless to say, her buddies weren’t the type to take criticism lightly, so they’d been staying up late and practicing for as long as their curfew allowed, raking their bodies over the coals in search of improvement.</p><p>Yeri was seriously worried about them. She knew exactly how stressful evaluations were, and how badly poor feedback hurt. SM instructors didn’t go easy on anyone, regardless of age. Also, she hadn’t seen them in the cafeteria all week, and she knew Taeyong-oppa and Doyoung-oppa were gone on some SM Rookies promo without the younger boys, so there went both of their normal avenues for food. Yeri figured they were in desperate need of both a  pick-me-up and food.</p><p>Also, she was so. Freaking. Bored. There were only so many hours all alone in her and her unnies’ dorm during their promotions she could take. </p><p>And all that somehow led her to the decision to risk her entire career before it even began just to feed some ungrateful, likely stinky, teenage boys.</p><p>They better bow down before her benevolent self after this.</p><p>The hallway was only lit by the light of the far-off boys’ common room, making her further descent into its depths all the more nervewracking. It took her an unreasonably long time to get this far down the hall because the rooms further up the hall were currently occupied by trainees whose snoring (while cacophonous) wouldn’t have prevented her from waking them. She crept silently past those rooms, she quickened to a light jog, slowing when she came near the room.</p><p>As she reached to open the door, she heard voices from the end of the hall. She whipped her head to see if she’d been spotted while forcing the door open. She slipped in quickly, seeing only the tips of sneakers in the lighted common room entrance.</p><p>Once in the room, with the door shut soundly and silently, Yerim breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t dare to flip on the lights while those guys were right outside in the hallway, but she did feel around for the nearest bunk to plop the straining takeout bags on. She sat next to the bags in the dark, rubbing the indents from the bag’s straps out of her skin.</p><p>She could still hear the trainees talking and laughing out in the hall, coming closer to her every moment.</p><p>She wasn’t too worried about them. Either they were the exact boys she wanted to get caught by or they weren’t and wouldn’t be going into this room in the first place. That is… so long as she had gotten the room right.</p><p>She was sure she’d gotten the room right, she’d been here loads of times! (Don’t let Irene-unnie know that.)</p><p>There was no way she’d gotten it wrong.</p><p>She started scooting off the bed. She’d gotten the room right but… just in case she hadn’t (which she had)… there was no harm in hiding under the bed to be sure no one would catch her, right?</p><p>And so under the bed, she hid. Her long hair tangled around her, seemingly just as reluctant to lay on the dirty, dust-covered floor. Lord was she thankful for Irene-unnie’s incessant late-night cleaning if this was how the boys were living without Taeyong-oppa around to clean up after them.</p><p>The footsteps of the trainees felt like gongs to her ears as they came closer to the doors of the room. Yerim began to shake a bit, terrified of what might happen if this really was someone else’s room.</p><p>But then, like a light in the dark, she heard from outside the doors an astonishingly annoying whine.</p><p>“Maaaaaaaarrrrrrkeuuuu-hyyyuuuuunnngggg~”</p><p>A huge sigh came from another voice, closer to the door than the other. “What, Hyuk-ah?”</p><p>A smile broke out on Yerim’s face. This was gonna be fun.</p><p>“Are you sure we can’t just seak into Yuta-hyung’s room? I’m sure he’s got snacks lying around!” The voice was much louder, just outside the door.</p><p>“Hyuk-ah we’ve got to get to bed now if we want to have any energy tomorrow.” The door began to slowly swing open. Yerim readied herself. “You knew we wouldn’t get the chance to snack with this kind of schedule, it’s what we signed up for.”</p><p>A hand reached over and flicked on the lights at the same moment the door swung open fully.</p><p>The other voice sighed. “I know, Hyung. I just worry about Jisungie. He needs more than granola bars to--”</p><p>The second the two figures had entered fully and closed the door, Yerim rolled out from under the bed and leaped to her feet. “Boo!”</p><p>Mark and Donghyuk both yelped loudly before slapping their hands over their mouths. They both looked far too worn out for 15 and 14-year-olds (then again, so did she, under the makeup), but the second they saw her they both broke out beaming.</p><p>“Yerim-noona!” Donghyuk cried, rushing to embrace her. Yerim laughed as raucously as she dared this late at night as her dongsaeng twirled her around the room in delight.</p><p>When Donghyuk finally let her down, she turned to Mark and issued her first decree. “Mark-ah! Get the rest of the boys in here!”</p><p>Mark’s smiled bemusedly. “What for?”</p><p>Yerim sighed. It was right on the bed, how had they not noticed?</p><p>She gave a grand gesture toward her haul. “I brought you ravenous little workaholics some sustenance!”</p><p>Donghyuk’s eyes lit up at the sight of food. “YES!” He started jumping around the room in delight. “Finally something eat! Yes yes yes!” He halted before Yerim and dropped to his knees in a bow. “All hail Yerim-noona, who brought to us victuals!”</p><p>Yerim lifted her chin in a regal stance and flipped her still-disheveled hair coldly. “No need to thank your benevolent ruler, citizen. My kind and glorious heart couldn’t bear to see the peasants go hungry.”</p><p>Mark chuckled a little, confused but endeared. “I’ll go get the rest.” He jogged out the door, careful to only open it enough to slip out. They didn’t want there to be any chance of Yerim getting caught. Certainly not on their watch.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yell at me to write on twitter!<br/>@yerimsbih</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Wendy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Seungwan (Wendy) visits NCT U shortly after their debut.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Been a fat sec! quarantine has kept me p listless, but luckily the burning need to update of 4/20 kept me from completely dropping the ball.</p><p>This is set in April 2016, just after RV finished their One Of These Nights promotions. (also released April 2016, TWICE's Cheer Up! The things Bell finds when doing far too much research for kpop fanfic.)</p><p>Anyways, get hype for Ridin' and happy 7Dream to all of you, hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>4</p><p>Seungwan wasn’t exactly following the conversation when NCT’s concept and units were explained to her, but that didn’t stop her from being astonished the first time she saw the boys’ debut song (the first of many, or so she’d gathered). This particular unit (NCT U? Or maybe it was NCT M?) had such a unique, subtle concept, Seungwan couldn’t help but be captivated when they performed it. She would be caught in front of the monitors for far too long when she and her members were backstage prepping for their own stages.</p><p>Seungwan loved the song so much she felt terrible that the two groups’ schedules matched up so inconveniently. She vowed that the second promotions wrapped up for “One of These Nights” she’d immediately go and give some love (and snacks) to her hoobae group. </p><p>So here she was, just days after Red Velvet’s last performance on this very music show, waiting patiently outside NCT’s dressing room, arms loaded with junk food ensured to be a hit with exhausted young dancers, plus some healthier options (thrown in by Joohyun in her worry for the boys’ sugar intake). She felt a little out of place without her members and elaborate stage outfit. Her still firetruck red hair was tied up in a simple bun, which in addition to her rounded glasses gave her a kind of bored librarian/worried helicopter mom look.</p><p>The staff either passed right over her or gave her strange ‘What are you still doing here?’ looks. She stood her ground, though, eyes fixed on the monitor closest to her.  The 7th Sense’s choreography alone was crazy hard. Seungwan’s knees hurt just looking at those isolations and angles. The boys would be ravenous when they got back to the dressing room, which would be any minute, she thought as the lights on the stage just faded to black. </p><p>Seungwan was caught up in adjusting her grip on the bulging snack bag in her arms when a PA ran past her to begin hurridly unlocking the door to NCT’s dressing room. After unlocking the door, the PA (a young man about Seungwan’s own age) rushed into the darkened room, flipping on the lights and speeding to grab water bottles and fans to lay out for the member’s convenience. Seemingly having finished his preparations, he began to walk back into the hall at a more relaxed pace, this time catching sight of Seungwan just outside the door.</p><p>His eyes widened within a few seconds of spotting her. He grinned toothily down at her, reaching back to catch the door to the dressing room before it closed. “Here for the kiddos, Wendy-ssi?”</p><p>Seungwan gave a tight smile to the young man. She had hoped to get out of this with as few encounters with fans as possible, but unfortunately, her group’s manager, having judged the staff at this music show to be as professional as she had, had let her go in mostly unattended. </p><p>“Ah yes!” she finally responded, turning to face the man. “Do you think I could wait in their dressing room until they get here?”</p><p>Still holding the door, the man leaned back to let her through. “Sure, so long you don’t distract them so much that they end up late to the send-off.” He gave a deep chuckle.</p><p>Seungwan didn’t like the look of this guy, but she ignored the feeling to slip past his looming body as quickly as possible into the dressing room.</p><p>She placed the bag of snacks down on the couch nearest to the door, ignoring the lingering presence of the PA at the door. She turned back to see him glancing quickly down the hallway. The action put her on guard, but she relaxed when the PA saw something that caused him to jerk away from the doorway.</p><p>The PA gave another greasy smirk as he backed away from the room. “Looks like the kids are back, Wendy-ssi. Let me know if they give you any trouble.”</p><p>Discomfitted by his behavior, but glad for the sudden arrival of her dongsaengs, Wendy stationed herself in the middle of the dressing room and waited for the boys to walk in and see her.</p><p>“--did wonderfully, Doyoung-ssi!” Seungwan caught as the rookies came closer to the room. The sweet accent of the voice gave it away as Ten’s.</p><p>“Yeah, Hyung! We can’t be perfect every time, and you were about as close to perfect as we could get, anyway!” Mark sounded so much closer to his age when he wasn’t rapping as if his life depended on it. </p><p>“No guys, you don’t get--” Doyoung’s response was cut off when he came face to face with Seungwan waving pleasantly at him in the midst of the cluttered dressing room. </p><p>“Sunbaenim!” Doyoung exclaimed, bowing deeply.</p><p>“No no no!” Seungwan rushed to stop the rest of them from bowing. “I’d prefer if you’d all just keep calling me ‘Noona.’”</p><p>The boys all stared at her for far too long. </p><p>“Ah--um…” she floundered. She snatched up the bag of goodies she’d brought. “I have snacks?”</p><p>All five of them cheered and rushed to receive their Noona’s peace offering. Once the snacks had been distributed equally (with plenty left to take back to the dorms), Seungwan sat down on the couches and talked to her dongsaengs as they were worked over by their stylists between bites of chips and candy bars.</p><p>“Did you like the performance, noona?” Taeyong asked her eyes big and curious from where they met hers in the mirror. </p><p>“Of course I did! I’ve been watching as many as I can around our promotions,” Seungwan declared. She may be awkward with these kinds of interactions, but at least she was certain of her pride in her dongsaengs’ hard work and skill.</p><p>“W-what did you think, Sunb-- Noona?” Doyoung asked, his hands nervously fiddling with the snack wrappers in his lap.</p><p>“Oh!” Seungwan put a hand over her chest. “I just loved it! You kids are so good at what you do.” She could see the blushes spreading on their cheeks as she continued. “Your dancing, your stage presence, your vocals-- they’re all amazing!”</p><p>Doyoung turned his chair to face her fully, his eyes unable to meet hers. “Do-- do you think I did alright?”</p><p>Seungwan had barely processed the question when the other four boys began loudly voicing their disapproval.</p><p>“Doyoung-ssi, your singing was wonderful--”</p><p>“Hyungie it wasn’t nearly as bad as you think--”</p><p>“Doyoungie it’s a difficult song to perform! You did--</p><p>Despite his members’ barrage of praise and assurances, Doyoung kept his focus on Seungwan.</p><p>“Noona I--” Doyoung paused. His members quieted. “Noona, as Red Velvet’s main vocal, you can judge best. Did I really do alright today?”</p><p>Seungwan glanced at Ten and Jaehyun, who were nearest to her seat on the couch. They looked so worried about Doyoung.</p><p>She looked at Doyoung and waited until he glanced up at her. “Doyoung-ssi.” She gave him a smile as he finally met her eye. “Of course you did alright. Doing “alright” is the baseline for you guys. Every performance I’ve seen has been alright plus ten layers of fantastic! Especially you, Doyoung-ssi! You’re more stable than I would be doing that choreo in a hundred years of practice!”</p><p>With his member’s cheers of approval ringing in his ears, Doyoung bowed his head in embarrassment. “I doubt that, Wendy-noona. Your voice is incredible.”</p><p>Seungwan beamed at her adorable dongsaeng. “Yours is too, Doyoungie!”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>yell about rv and nct with me on twt-<br/>@yerimsbih</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>